His Redeemer Says Meow
by ToxicTenshi
Summary: Even as he finally began to come back to himself, he didn't expect anything to change. He was still a coldblooded killer-still a ruthless murderer with no chance at redemption. That was, till a soft meow echoed in the night. Bucky and his pet kitty story, an excuse for fluff really.


**AN: Omg, uploading something after months! Ugh, it's been a combo of writer's block, work, and other stuff I'll admit.**

 **I've been meaning to upload fics like this-for the heck of it fics where it's not entirely planned and a bit shorter. I feel like writing these shorter, silly fics and oneshots will help me practice and help in writing more of my plot driven fics like my Walking Dead one.**

 **Also this is an excuse to include Bucky, one of my favorite Marvel characters, and some fluff. Please enjoy :)**

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 **Chapter 1**

The Winter Soldier was a killer. He didn't need to be in his right mind to know that. Pull the trigger, break some necks, crack some skulls-that was his purpose. Or at least, it was the purpose they drilled, or rather shocked into his skull. Change the world as they saw fit by killing-snuffing out life after life under the orders of HYDRA-his masters they might as well be called. After all he was frozen and programmed to be under their beck and call. He was called a solider, the asset, but was treated more like a dog. Not that it mattered to him. With how robotic the treatment made him he didn't stop to think about any of this. It didn't matter and it never entered his thoughts.

That was...until D.C.

Alexander Pierce gave him his mission: kill Natasha Romanoff and Steve Rogers. If either of those names had echoed in familiarity in his mind it was way in the back to where he didn't even acknowledge it.

No. The mission. That was what was important and what needed to be completed. And as Pierce shot his housekeeper Renata down in cold blood he didn't even flinch. A casualty. He was right. She shouldn't have returned.

Either way he had his orders now. In his mind he checked off all the targets that needed to be taken care of and nodded to himself as he exited the man's home. At 1400 hours he would complete his next mission and get this nuisance out of the way. But until then...

What?

Walking stiffly down the road he got back into the city, passing through like a ghost unseen by what little people were still wandering about late at night. Yet as he did he had no particular destination in mind. The mission wasn't until tomorrow afternoon and he knew that the men he'd be working with had likely already been debriefed. He'd merely confer with them the next morning to solidify their objective. They were competent enough he didn't have to worry.

So again, that left him with the two word question: Now what?

Questions weren't normally something he had but then again he never had any free time before and after a mission. Normally he'd be back at base frozen or prepping under the watchful eyes and guns of HYDRA agents and Pierce. And quite frankly with his one-track mind of COMPLETE THE MISSION it wasn't like he craved it-time off that was.

But here he was. Pierce must have been pretty confident to just let him loose like this nearly a whole day before his task needed to be done and while he wouldn't say he felt lost, so to speak, he didn't really feel anything at all...but what else would you call him now as he stood here, staring blankly at a brick wall of an alley way as a soft rain poured down?

He was just waiting perhaps.

The soft pitter patter of the rain was almost calming, dripping onto the pavement. His normally cold, blue eyes darted to a water drop hanging at the edge of his long, brown hair, following its descent down into the ground into a forming puddle.

He stared at that for who knows how long. It wasn't like he was unaccustomed to standing still for hours on end, he excelled at it. It was perhaps his second specialty, killing being the first.

There was a faint twinge in his chest. He ignored it.

Rain. Just focus on the rain. There was nothing else until the mission so he might as well focus on this. No Pierce. No HYDRA. No Captain America or Romanoff. No nothing until tom-

 **BANG.**

Like the flick of a switch the assassin was back. A click and the safety was off his pistol and pointed at the possible threat, eyes cold and blank once more and ready to kill.

That was till he saw what made the noise.

An upturned trashcan lid shuffled a bit before finally resting. His eyes went from it the wall it had fallen from...and to the eyes that peered from the darkness. Slowly one paw appeared, then the other, till the full, tiny form came into view.

Fur a mix of bright and dark orange with a patch of white covering the chin, the little sneak emerged, yellow-green eyes focused on the super solider with a gun.

He didn't react, didn't move until it covered the few feet to the side of the alley he was on and hopped up onto the dumpster, shaking the water from its fur. His gun followed it the entire time, though he wasn't sure why. Habit, he supposed. Of course with his strength and size it's not like there was any threat from a cat.

Still, he remained in the same pose, eyes trained on the feline and gun raised to its furry face which stared at him unflinchingly.

Cats sure had guts.

He blinked, feeling somewhat astounded when it sat down and began licking a paw, as if the gun in its face was of no consequence. Huh.

The Winter Solider had never felt anything really, but now he could say he felt something...surprise. There were moments where things didn't go as planned sure but he was always quick to counter despite that, adapting and taking action. This though? Nothing programmed him for-

 _What?_

It was... _purring_ , and rubbing its face against the barrel of the gun as if...as if he couldn't pull the trigger and blow its head off in a split second.

As if sensing his confusion the ginger tabby stopped and opened its eyes to stare at him.

" **Meow."**

And with that soft mew noise, he felt somewhat grounded for the first time in forever.

The Winter Solider was a robot...a killer...an assassin. He didn't feel and he didn't have any opinions. Thus it came to a surprise when he found himself uttering a word he couldn't recall ever, ever using.

"Cute."

...

...

...

It was strange. This wasn't how he thought the night would go. He should be at the base by now, sitting in that dreary vault as he waited to depart for his next mission. Yet here he was, on the floor of a dirty alleyway with an orange tabby at his feet. They were in some sort of a staring contest, with no winner in sight. The cat stared right into his eyes without any movement except for the gentle swishing of his poof of a tail back and forth slowly. He didn't blink or move at all, his gun long since holstered. It was clear by now there was no threat, just as the furry fiend didn't see him as one.

It was strange to feel something again. Had he ever? Either way he found it was...relieving, to be something other than a near blank slate, because with this little guy-girl?-he hadn't checked- being not afraid of him he felt a sense of calm. Peace. Contentment.

"Meow."

He hadn't realized that his gaze had actually wandered in thought till the soft noise brought his attention back. Yep, it was still staring at him.

"You should be afraid." he finally spoke, his voice as monotone as it ever was and his expression blank.

Still it stared. Was he feeling unnerved? He actually was, a little. It felt today was a day of firsts.

He should leave. He needed to leave.

But he stayed put.

"...I've a mission tomorrow." He didn't know why he started speaking, but he did. When his "audience" didn't move he continued, "To...eliminate some people. That's what I do, I'm a killer, nothing more."

"Meow."

He blinked. "You don't care?"

Getting up the cat began purring once more, rubbing its furry body against his hands. It was so soft. He couldn't recall feeling anything so soft before.

"You really don't care." He murmured softly. It stopped and stared at him again.

He wanted to-no, he shouldn't. He could accidentally kill the thing and for once he found he didn't want to kill. But still. Part of him, a part that he didn't know existed, desired to do something. So sucking in a deep breath and steeling his nerves...he raised his real hand and pet the cat's back. The reaction was instant. Purrs restarted like that and the tabby's eyes shut in what looked like utter ecstasy. A twitch at the end of his mouth and the normally stoic Winter Solider found himself...smiling.

Whatever this was, feeling something other than the cold, was something he didn't want to stop.

But it had to, he knew. It would.

For now though? He'd enjoy this moment of contentment that he was sure wouldn't come again.

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 **So there it is. Sorry if I missed any mistakes. Again an excuse for Bucky and a cute animal. While I love Bucky romance and OC fics this popped into my head as a silly idea to do. And I feel like there's not enough fics centered around animals, or at least I haven't come across many.**

 **So if you liked this please follow, fav, and review :)**


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